Chapter 102: Substitution Trick
Chapter 102: Swapping the Beam for a Pillar
Lü Yang felt quite at ease regarding Zhao Xuhe.
"Senior Brother Zhao has accumulated merits across three lifetimes, his fortune is substantial. Even without my assistance, he once attempted Foundation Establishment before. With my help now, his chances should be even higher."
It was merely a matter of time.
Lü Yang withdrew his gaze and returned to his cave abode. He then summoned his guardian deity Su Nu and, leveraging her Foundation Establishment-level cultivation, began re-cultivating the Corpse Liberation Method and Heavenly Silkworm Secret.
Thus, time passed until a moonless, windy night ten days later.
"Junior Brother Lü, are you there?"
Liu Xin came knocking.
Responding to the call, Lü Yang opened the cave entrance and grinned at Liu Xin: "You're here! I've been waiting for you, Senior Brother. Thank you for making this long trip in the dead of night."
Liu Xin was taken aback: "...Bring what?"
Having done this two lifetimes ago, Lü Yang's movements were practically second nature. Before Liu Xin could finish speaking, Lü Yang had already extended a qi-formed giant hand.
Liu Xin, who had arrived full of ambition intending to refine this newly enrolled junior disciple to break through to late-stage Qi Refining, didn't even have time to react before Lü Yang's qi hand seized him, instantly reducing him to ashes. Only the Myriad Spirits Banner clattered to the ground.
Witnessing this scene, Lü Yang couldn't help but sigh.
Nowadays, the Senior Brother Liu who had once filled him with resentment yet left him helpless had become a reliable "supply point" he visited almost every lifetime.
After all, the Innate Primordial Qi Divine Talisman was simply too useful.
"Speaking of obscuring karma, I almost forgot... The Yun Family Patriarch, that Foundation Establishment reincarnator, seems to possess an even more formidable heavenly secret treasure!"
In his previous life, he'd left early and missed it.
But this lifetime was different. Lü Yang planned to replicate his cultivation path from two lifetimes ago, carefully crafting an impeccable disciple persona within the Saint Sect.
"The Yun Family Patriarch's trip to the Refinement Secret Realm couldn't have been solely targeting me—he likely had designs on the realm itself. That heavenly secret treasure in his possession can even deceive Golden Core True Lords. If I enter first to ambush him and obtain this treasure, it would greatly benefit my future cultivation!"
Moreover, he hadn't forgotten.
Back then, the Yun Family Patriarch had schemed against him in the secret realm. Had he not been more skilled, not only would his cultivation have been wasted, but he might have died there as well.
Without settling this grudge, his Dao heart would remain unstable!
With this in mind, Lü Yang silently drew a circle next to the Yun Family Patriarch's name in his mental ledger of grudges, marking him as one of this lifetime's primary targets.
..........
Inside the cave abode, Lü Yang sat cross-legged on a meditation mat.
Before him lay Liu Xin's Myriad Spirits Banner—pure white in color, appearing worlds apart from the inky purple-black banner within Lü Yang's dantian.
In the next moment, Lü Yang activated his magic power.
Liu Xin's banner trembled slightly, and Chen Xin'an emerged. After glancing around, his face filled with astonishment as he looked at Lü Yang.
Then Lü Yang summoned his own Myriad Spirits Banner. Soon, the banner spirit Chen Xin'an also emerged, standing face-to-face with his original self.
"Who are you!"
"You're me?"
Both spoke almost simultaneously, though the original Chen Xin'an was visibly more shocked, while the banner spirit Chen Xin'an seemed to be mimicking him.
Since he intended to have the banner spirit Chen Xin'an carry out infiltration missions, Lü Yang naturally needed to ensure his loyalty. Thus, he subjected the banner spirit to additional refinement, implanting numerous restrictions—just as he had with Su Nu—to prevent betrayal and ensure he could annihilate the spirit with a single thought.
"Proceed."
With a wave of Lü Yang's hand, the banner spirit Chen Xin'an immediately obeyed. Without hesitation, he pointed a finger, piercing through the original's soul.
Until his final moment, the original Chen Xin'an remained bewildered.
Who killed me?
And who did I kill?
With these heavy questions, his soul abruptly disintegrated, its karma inherited by the banner spirit Chen Xin'an, lending his expression newfound vitality.
"From now on, you are the real Chen Xin'an!"
Looking at the reverent banner spirit Chen Xin'an, Lü Yang nodded in satisfaction. He then implanted the Innate Primordial Qi Divine Talisman into its body.
The talisman contained a strand of Lü Yang's divine sense. Shielded by the talisman, it would remain undetectable by Foundation Establishment True Persons, allowing Lü Yang to monitor the Mending Heaven Peak Master through the banner spirit and, when necessary, take control of his body. It would also help conceal the banner spirit's own karma.
After completing these preparations, Lü Yang sent him on his way.
As for the second Myriad Spirits Banner, Lü Yang destroyed it, refining its essence into his own banner to expand its internal dimensional realm.
..........
Atop Mending Heaven Peak, within a tea pavilion.
The Mending Heaven Peak Master's mood was far from pleasant. After all, the Panlong inheritance he had considered already in his grasp—a duck cooked and ready to eat—had suddenly flown away.
"What a pity. Although that inheritance was related to Jiangxi and not to be studied lightly, I specifically created the Six Paths Nirvana Phoenix Art for Qian'er to cultivate. It would have allowed perfect absorption through dual cultivation. Now that the art is gone, Qian'er has lost a great opportunity. Who knows when she'll be able to attempt Foundation Establishment again..."
The thought brought another sigh from the Peak Master.
"If only my son were still here..."
Chen Xin'an, the Peak Master's biological son and most accomplished disciple, had mastered great divine abilities at a young age, needing only the final step to perfection.
Given time, had he broken through to Qi Refining perfection, cultivated third-grade Mending Heaven True Qi, mastered great divine abilities, and with the Peak Master securing a Foundation Establishment treasure for assistance, he would have had a thirty percent chance to attempt Foundation Establishment! Moreover, had he waited for the Righteous-Demonic War sixty years later, that chance could have increased by another ten percent!
My son Xin'an had the makings of Foundation Establishment!
Yet heaven envies the talented. A treasure-hunting expedition caused his disappearance. Despite all attempts to trace the karma, nothing was found—only a faint sense that he hadn't completely perished.
"Ai..."
The Peak Master sighed again when suddenly, a ripple in karma appeared. He jerked his head up, instinctively activating his divine sense to scan the vast web of causality.
"This is... Xin'an's karma!?"
In the next instant, the Peak Master sprang to his feet. His immense divine sense followed the threads of karma to their source, finally landing on a cave abode within Mending Heaven Peak.
Inside the empty cave, a faint soul hovered midair, on the verge of dissipation.
His consciousness was nearly gone—it wouldn't be surprising if his soul scattered completely the next moment. Only a lingering thought struggled weakly, echoing repeatedly:
"Father... forgive me..."
Boom!
The Peak Master instantly traversed the void, entering the cave. His vast magic power forcibly stabilized the dissipating soul, actually managing to reconstitute it!
Behind the Peak Master, the phantom of a mermaid appeared.
[Red Ruo Scale]!
This Earthly Fiend belonged to the [Tuntan] position, embodying the mysteries of Gui Water.
Though Gui Water represents death in [Tuntan], [Tuntan] secretly contains Geng Metal, which can revive Gui Water. Thus, its imagery signifies "life found in death."
The reason the Peak Master in his previous life believed he could reassemble Chen Xin'an's soul even if it had scattered—as long as it happened before his eyes—lay in this Earthly Fiend's wonder. No matter how fatal the injury, [Red Ruo Scale] could turn danger into safety.
The deeper one's cultivation and the stronger their magic power, the greater the effect.
With the Peak Master's mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, using [Red Ruo Scale] on Chen Xin'an's Qi Refining-level soul made bringing him back from death as easy as breathing!